Women's Council calls for repeal of 8th Amendment on International Women's Day

International Women's Day is being dominated by calls to repeal the 8th Amendment.

The National Women's Council of Ireland has said the constitutional ban on abortion is one of the biggest obstacles to equality in this country, and is calling for a referendum to change the law.

Amnesty International launched a new campaign yesterday to help Irish women gain full reproductive rights, while Sinn Féin's Ard Fheis voted in favour of terminations in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities.

The director of the National Women's Council of Ireland Orla O'Connor said today was the right time to tackle abortion.

"It has been ignored by so many governments and that's why we believe that it really has to be taken seriously," she said.

"The fact that over 4,000 women are travelling outside of Ireland every year just shows how we bury our heads in the sand. The fact is abortion is a reality - it's one of the choices women should have when they are in a pregnancy.

"We are putting women through extreme trauma by making them travel."